Charles Francis McLaughlin was born on June 19, 1887 in Lincoln, Nebraska. He received an A.B. from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1908, and an LL.B. from Columbia Law School in 1910. He was an attorney in a private practice from 1910 to 1935, and he served as a Special Master in Chancery, for the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, 1916 to 1918. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Army as captain of the 347th Field Artillery, 91st Division, American Expeditionary Forces, 1918 to 1919. He also served as a major in the Officers' Reserve Corps, 1919 to 1921. After his military service, he returned to private law practice. McLaughlin was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1935, and served as a U.S. Representative from Nebraska, 1935 to 1943. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1942. From 1943 to 1947, he was a member of the American-Mexican Claims Commission, and from 1947 to 1949 he was a member of the U.S. Indian Claims Commission. On October 21, 1949, he received a recess appointment from President Harry S. Truman, to a new seat created in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was nominated on January 5, 1950; confirmed by the Senate on February 27, 1950; and he received his commission on March 1, 1950. He assumed senior status on December 31, 1964, and continued to hear cases until June 1974. He served as a senior U.S. district judge until his death on February 5, 1976.
From the description of McLaughlin, Charles Francis, 1887-1976 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10625108
